And in New Orleans, the NAACP has called on the Justice Department to block the upcoming mayoral election amid concerns substantial numbers of the city’s residents have been disenfranchised. NAACP President Bruce Gordon said the government has not done enough to guarantee New Orleans residents, most of whom are African-American, a chance to vote. Louisana Secretary of State Al Ater, the state’s top elections official, denounced the NAACP’s demand, saying: “This will be the most accessible race in the history of America.” State officials have rejected calls to set up satellite polling stations in cities such as Houston and Atlanta where there are large numbers of New Orleans residents displaced by Hurricane Katrina.